Spain’s Younger Generation Not Even Making 1,000 Euros a Month

Not only am I amazed anyone in Spain could live on 1,000 euros a month, that many of Spain’s younger generation, those under the age of 35, are not even making 1,000 euros a month in Spain’s current dismal economy is unbelievably shocking. That 68 percent of Spain’s younger generation say they’d like to leave Spain to work in jobs overseas, that unfortunately isn’t shocking at all. As a journalist on El Pais says, it’s a”demographic timebomb” that will impact Spain for more than a generation to come.

As a freelance writer myself, I’ve come across a number of Spain’s under 35s on websites looking for writing jobs. Willing to take jobs paying 5 euros an article, many of these jobs have dried up too in the last few months, and they’re now desperately trolling freelance writing websites willing to take anything that comes along. One girl I chatted to online was making less than 2 euros an article — a rate she would have laughed at only a couple of years ago. Now, she’s willing to write as many of them as she can just to get some money coming in.

Unfortunately, with Spain’s new government pushing through labor reform, it’s only likely to get worse. In fact, if the new labor reform works as expected, there may be a few more jobs for younger people but Spanish companies will be able to pay them even less, and fire them even quicker. As this has been tried before and it failed then, why on earth does Spain’s prime minister Mariano Rajoy think this time will be any different?

Less than 1,000 euros a month? Less than 824 euros, the average amount those under 35 are currently making in Spain? How could anyone possibly live on that?